A map created by the Low Income Housing Coalition, part of a larger report on the state of low-income housing, suggests that minimum wage workers in Connecticut need to work more hours per week — 114 hours in total — just to make the rent than in other states.
Min Wage Map 0
This is an interesting lens through which to look at the minimum wage argument. More hours must be worked to meet the rent than in any surrounding state, though that may have more to do with rental prices than it does the minimum wage. The study shows that rental prices in Connecticut are the sixth highest in the nation.
Sen. Edith Prague, co-chairwoman of the Labor Committee, which yesterday voted to increase the minimum wage by $1 over two years, said the bill will most likely make it to the governor's desk.
"I think it's got a very good chance," she said, though she acknowledged that her party might not be of one mind on the subject. "I'm sure there will be some Democrats who will vote against it."
Whether or not the governor will sign it is another matter.